4 Quotes & Sayings By Richard Francis Burton

Richard Francis Burton (23 February 1776 – 25 December 1864) was an English soldier and explorer, and has been described as one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century. He was the first European to enter the Swahili Coast and to circumnavigate Lake Tanganyika, and was the first European to descend the Congo River into its mouth. His explorations and travels helped to lay the foundations of European colonialism in Africa. He also helped create and popularize the Burton Club, a society for those interested in travel and exploration. Richard Burton is best known as part of an expedition led by John Hanning Speke, who discovered Lake Victoria (now called Lake Tanganyika), which had been referred to as "Ansorge's Lake" by Speke's friend, James Grant Read more

The expedition returned to England in 1862 with ivory and numerous other specimens that were sold for substantial profit. On his return from Africa, he published a widely praised account of his adventures, The Pilgrims of Great Zimbabwe. In 1855, Burton married Frances Anstey at St Luke's Church in Chelsea, London. In spite of their three children, he remained devoted to Frances until her death on 26 July 1868. In 1869 he married Julia Eliza Pakenham at St Peter's Church, York Minster.

She bore him a son, Richard Anstey Pakenham, who survived only a few months before dying at the age of two. In 1873 his widow Julia died after a long illness; she is buried at All Saints Churchyard in Rye.

1
Of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Civilization, man feels once more happy. Richard Francis Burton
The more I study religions the more I am convinced...
2
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself. Richard Francis Burton
3
I'd like to be born the son of a duke with 90, 000 pounds a year, on an enormous estate.... And I'd like to have the most enormous library, and I'd like to think that I could read those books forever and forever, and die unlamented, unknown, unsung, unhonored - and packed with information. Richard Francis Burton